A second half shutout allowed the Gold to race past the Blue for a thrilling 58-45 win at Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game on Saturday.
If you’re wondering how a defensive struggle could see a 58-45 final score, well, welcome to the world of spring games.
Notre Dame’s defense was credited with FIFTEEN sacks on the day and closed the game by limiting the offense to three three-and-outs and three stops after the halftime gun, which somehow equated to 27 points for the Gold squad.
Despite the second half shutout leading to a devastating loss, Notre Dame’s offense still produced before Saturday’s crowd of 30,000-plus. Ian Book was 16-of-21 for 220 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Jafar Armstrong was the Blue’s star of the game, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown while compiling 71 receiving yards and another score (though he did have a costly fumble, forced by the Gold’s Jalen Elliott), while Jahmir Smith rushed for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Chase Claypool caught four passes for 92 yards to lead all receivers.
On defense, Khalid Kareem led the bunch with three sacks, while Paul Moala added two sacks and a team-high nine tackles.
Notre Dame announced kick times for its 7-game home slate in 2019. The Irish’s home opener against New Mexico will kick at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 14. Virginia (Sept. 28) and Bowling Green (Oct. 5) kick at 3:30 p.m. ET, while USC (Oct. 12) is a 7:30 p.m. ET kick. Home dates against Virginia Tech (Nov. 2), Navy (Nov. 16) and Boston College (Nov. 23) all begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. All seven games will be televised on NBC.